The first national title in program history came down to the final minute inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami was in Indiana territory, but Hurricane quarterback Carson Beck threw a pass that Indiana defensive back Jamari Sharpe had his eyes on and intercepted at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line.

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The win sealed the 27-21 victory and became one of the biggest plays in Indiana football history.

Indiana radio announcer Don Fischer, who has been on the headset for Hoosier football games since 1973, had the call, and had a great reaction to the moment:

‘Looks, throws it down the field and it is intercepted by Indiana! Wow, what a play! And it is Jamari Sharpe, who comes up with a pick, and he runs into the end zone,’ Fischer said, as he and everyone in the booth celebrated.

Fischer has seen plenty of lows in Indiana football history, but he was on the microphone to be on-hand for the national championship.

So, who got snubbed?

That’s always the question to pose once NBA All-Stars – and each conference’s starters – are announced.

On Monday, Jan. 19, the NBA unveiled the East and West starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which will take place Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The league used a weighted system to select starters, with the fan vote accounting for 50%, and NBA players and media accounting for 25%, respectively. Each player then generated a weighted score, and the Top 5 players from each conference, regardless of position, were named starters.

Here are the winners and losers from the selection of starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game:

WINNERS

Jaylen Brown

Though he is a five-time All-Star, Brown had always been overshadowed by fellow Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Not this year. With Tatum sidelined with a torn Achilles, Brown has not only emerged as a legitimate No. 1 option and a first-time All-Star starter, but he has also put himself squarely in the conversation for Most Valuable Player. That Brown is also doing this after Boston moved on from established stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis further illustrates his rise. He’s averaging 29.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season.

Jalen Brunson

There’s no question Brunson is one of the elite players in the NBA and one of the steadiest closers. And though Brunson cleared the threshold with ease — his weighted score of 3.25 ranked fourth among East players and was 2.75 points greater than Donovan Mitchell, the No. 6 player on the list — he probably got a boost that New York players often get. The Knicks are a blue-chip franchise with a gargantuan following, so their stars tend to get elevated. Make no mistake: Brunson is a deserving All-Star. But with a roster of talented guards in the East, his case to start was thinner than the end result indicated.

Victor Wembanyama

There’s no denying the impact Wembanyama has on the floor, but the San Antonio Spurs are actually 10-4 in games he didn’t play. That record, though, shouldn’t be skewed; he’s certainly worthy of the starter nod, but he got by on the slimmest of margins, on a fan vote tiebreaker (more on that later). Wembanyama just turned 22 on Jan. 4 and is making his second All-Star appearance. He’s only getting better and is in the MVP conversation. His days of starting in All-Stars are only beginning.

Tyrese Maxey

Another first-time starter, Maxey’s rise this season shows how he’s assuming control of the Philadelphia 76ers franchise. Although Joel Embiid, the 2022-23 Most Valuable Player, is slowly returning to form, this is Maxey’s team, and he’s quickly becoming one of the elite scoring guards in the NBA – one with seemingly limitless shooting range.

LOSERS

LeBron James

Chances are, James will still be an All-Star and will extend his record streak to 22 consecutive nominations. But for the first time in 21 years, James was not named a starter in the All-Star Game. James missed the first 14 games of the season with a right sciatica issue, and the Los Angeles Lakers have managed his playing time in back-to-backs since then. James, who turned 41 in late December, is reimagining the standard for players his age. His points (22.6 per game) and rebounds (5.9) are the lowest they have been since his rookie season (20.9 and 5.5), but James remains a threat for the Lakers. Still, all good things come to an end.

Anthony Edwards

This is the biggest snub of the day. Edwards’ 29.6 points per game rank fifth in the NBA. He’s a dynamic, three-level scorer and is one of the premier walking highlights this league has. His biggest problem here is that the person who took his spot, Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama, is exactly the same. Edwards and Wembanyama received the same weighted score of 5.75, which triggered a tiebreaker. Edwards lost that because his fan vote (1,960,957) was just 4,505 votes fewer than Wembanyama’s total. Stats don’t paint the entire picture because Wembanyama’s impact as a defender is immense, but, just for comparison’s sake, he’s averaging 24.5 points per game.

Donovan Mitchell

He was the first out in the field for starters in the East and very easily could’ve made a case to start. Entering Monday, Mitchell ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring, dropping 29.2 points per game. Even then, the margin between him and Jaylen Brown, the fourth player on the list, was just 0.5 points per game. His scoring clip is a career high, and his assists numbers (5.7) are just behind his all-time high of 6.1. The Cavaliers, though, started slowly, which almost certainly impacted his voting numbers.

Jalen Johnson

Will Johnson be an All-Star? Almost certainly yes. Did he deserve to start? Perhaps. Johnson is the victim of playing in a smaller market, for a team that has struggled to reach relevance in recent seasons. The Hawks are 20-24 (10th in the East), but Johnson is averaging nearly a triple-double, putting up 22.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. Johnson is more of an all-around player than Jalen Brunson, though Johnson’s defensive intensity has fallen off in recent seasons.

All eyes were on Fernando Mendoza on Monday as he warmed up on the field and prepared to lead the Indiana Hoosiers into the College Football Playoff national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. But there was one group in the building whose stakes in watching Mendoza were a bit higher than most.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and general manager John Spytek were spotted on the sideline by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, presumably to get one more in-game look at the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft (as predicted in USA TODAY’s latest mock draft). The Raiders, who finished the season with the worst record in the league at 4-13, hold that pick.

To remove any ambiguity that might have remained as to why they were there, minority owner Tom Brady was later seen standing alongside Davis and Spytek donning a silver hoodie with ‘Raiders’ printed in bold letters across his chest.

As explained in USA TODAY’s latest mock draft, Mendoza has virtually no competition for the top spot in the draft, even less so now that Oregon quarterback Dante Moore decided to stay in school for another year. The Raiders have been in dire need of a signal caller ever since parting ways with Derek Carr at the end of the 2022 season, so it seems all but inevitable that Mendoza will be getting a call from the Las Vegas brass this spring.

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Dallas Wings and Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers is $50,000 richer.

On Monday, following Breeze’s 83-64 win over Mist — a 37-point performance from Bueckers — the league announced the rookie won its inaugural $50,000 free throw challenge. Bueckers, who said she was ‘pretty aware’ she was leading the competition the whole time, made a perfect 13-of-13 free throws.

“I got some good plans, but no pocket watching over here,’ Bueckers said with a smile when asked what she might do with the money. ‘Imma take care of it.”

As part of the challenge, the Unrivaled player who recorded the highest free throw percentage across the league’s first five games of the season (Jan. 5–19) would earn a $50,000 prize. Players were required to appear in a minimum of three games and attempt at least six free throws to qualify for consideration.

Bueckers is having a standout debut season for Unrivaled, averaging 23.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.

STORRS, CT — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was famously unhappy with the Huskies postgame pizza on Jan. 15.

“The Pizza Capital of the world, my ass,” Auriemma said, adding the meal was basically ‘some red stuff they poured on the box and called it pizza, that must have been delivered hours before at shootaround.’

Not one to settle, Auriemma made sure ‘the standard’ was met after UConn’s 85-47 beatdown of Notre Dame on Monday at Gampel Pavilion.

The 12-time national champion coach came into the postgame press conference with a pizza from Frank Pepe’s, a New Haven standard known for its misshapen, chewy, charred crust. Pepe’s pizzeria has earned numerous ‘Best Pizza’ awards from publications like The Daily Meal, Food & Wine and USA TODAY.

‘Hey, we have high standards here,’ said Auriemma, when asked about how his rant about pizza blew up. ‘We have high standards, and now we get the best,’ he added, motioning to the Pepe’s box.

Pepe’s sent dozens of pies that were enjoyed by the team, coaches, staff, reporters and even folks cleaning Gampel Pavilion postgame.

UConn star Azzi Fudd, seen leaving the arena with some of the Pepe’s leftovers, confirmed the pizza on Thursday was bad. But Pepe’s? Worth taking home.

Goalie fights are rare in the NHL nowadays because linesmen try to keep combative netminders apart.

But there was one Monday night because Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky charged down the ice and went after the San Jose Sharks’ Alex Nedeljkovic before anyone could react.

The scrap happened during the third period after Florida’s Evan Rodrigues hit Vincent Desharnais, who had tripped the Panthers’ Mackie Samoskevich. Nedeljkovic left the crease to join the scrum, which drew the ire of Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky had the gloves off and Nedeljkovic dropped his, and both masks came off. Nedeljkovic eventually took Bobrovsky down.

Each goalie got five minutes for fighting and two minutes for leaving the crease.

This was the NHL’s first goalie fight since Mike Smith and Cam Talbot in February 2020.

Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self was reportedly hospitalized on Monday and did not travel with the team to Colorado ‘out of an abundance of caution,’ according to ESPN.

Per ESPN, the school said Self was feeling ‘under the weather’ and was later taken to LMH Health, where he was reportedly given IV fluids. According to a statement released by the school, Self is ‘feeling better but did not accompany the team to Boulder.’

Self had another health scare last summer, when he was hospitalized in July after experiencing ‘some concerning symptoms,’ wrote Bozello. He was released two days after undergoing a medical procedure in which two stents were placed. He also underwent a similar procedure in 2023 and missed that year’s Big 12 and NCAA tournaments due to chest tightness and balance concerns.

Self has been one of the most decorated coaches in college basketball history since taking the helm at Kansas in 2003, leading the Jayhawks to 14 consecutive Big 12 championships from 2004-2018. He’s coached Kansas to four final four appearances and national titles in 2008 and 2022 — making him the only coach in school history to win multiple national championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. On Nov. 12, 2024, Self passed Allen Phog as the winningest coach in Kansas history.

Dallas Wings and Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers is $50,000 richer.

On Monday, following Breeze’s 83-64 win over Mist and a 37-point performance from Bueckers, the league announced that the second-year pro won its inagural $50,000 free throw challenge. Bueckers, who said she was ‘pretty aware’ that she was leading the competition the whole time, finished with a perfect 100% free-throw completion percentage.

“I got some good plans, but no pocket watching over here,’ Bueckers said with a smile when asked what she might do with the money. ‘I’mma take care of it.”

As part of the challenge, the Unrivaled player who recorded the highest free-throw percentage across the league’s first five games of the season (Jan. 5–19) would earn a $50,000 prize. Players were required to appear in a minimum of three games and attempt at least six free throws to qualify for consideration.

Bueckers is having a standout debut season for Unrivaled, averaging 23.4 points, eight rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow hadn’t posted on the social media website X since April 2024, but he couldn’t sit back and watch the general public rag on NFL officials for their controversial calls in the divisional round.

The NFL playoffs’ divisional round featured two controversial calls on contested catches – the first, in the Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills game, resulted in an interception; the other, in the Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams game, was ruled a catch.

While some fans, analysts and in one case, an opposing head coach have criticized the officials and their decisions in the days since the two plays, Burrow felt the need to set things straight.

The Bengals’ quarterback took to social media to say he agreed with both calls the NFL’s officiating crews made in each game – and that neither should have been controversial to begin with.

‘The amount of (people) that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me,’ Burrow wrote on X. ‘And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right.’

Though Burrow wrote ‘yesterday’ on Jan. 19, the earlier play he was referring to happened on Jan. 17, two days prior.

The Bengals’ quarterback is not alone in his belief that both plays were officiated correctly.

CBS rules analyst and former NFL referee Gene Steratore said he agreed with the interception call that benefited the Broncos and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian in the first case. One day later, NBC rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McAulay said Rams wide receiver Davante Adams completed the process of a catch against the Bears in another bang-bang play, indicating the game’s officials ruled the play correctly.

Both teams to benefit from the controversial calls ruled in their favor went on to win their respective divisional round games. The Broncos and Rams will both play in their respective conference championships next weekend. Time will tell whether Burrow’s public defense of the NFL’s officiating earned him any extra calls to his benefit in the future.

The Miami Dolphins are once again turning to the Green Bay Packers to bring a key figure in the organization’s new leadership aboard.

The Dolphins are hiring Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley the team’s new head coach, according to multiple reports on Monday.

The Dolphins had Hafley in for an interview on Monday and identified him as their candidate before his scheduled interview with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

Hafley’s hire marks the first major move by new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, who was also with the Packers before joining the Dolphins.

Hafley, 46, had been Green Bay’s defensive coordinator for the last two seasons after serving as Boston College’s head coach from 2020-23. The Packers ranked in the top 12 in both yards allowed and scoring defense in both 2024 and 2025, with the latter unit derailed by season-ending injuries to All-Pro Micah Parsons as well as Devonte Wyatt.

In Miami, Hafley will be tasked with taking over a franchise that owns the NFL’s longest active playoff victory drought at 25 seasons.

He takes over for Mike McDaniel, who was fired Jan. 8 after posting a 35-33 record in four seasons at the helm.

More change could be ahead for Miami, which could be splitting with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason. Tagovailoa was benched for the last three games of the season, and Hill is coming off a severe left knee injury suffered in September.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said earlier in the month that the team had been preparing to replace Hafley, who had become a hotly pursued candidate on the open market.